Brofessor

Attention class. The Brofessor is giving you all detention.

I totally agree with all your opinions. I do not claim the creators of Macross were inspired by the images I present. I am just exploring media literacy and the human subconscious and how Macross iconography may have connected with us viewers on the level of our reptilian brains so to speak.

I also admit to being an amateur academic. My website is just a rough draft or first attempt at a scholarly analysis of Macross. I would love to read a professional research paper or thesis presentation about Macross. I assume they are out there and maybe written in Japanese. I assume some academic journals about Anime must contain some fun reads about Macross. Hope you are all well.

13 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

If you haven't watched the series, then why does it matter to you?

Thanks. Understood. I am just trying to gauge the magnitude of error in my own analysis.

13 hours ago, Brofessor said:

Is it taboo to view SDF Macross as an allegory or homage to World War 2? The SDF-1 crash landing and the Zentradi might be the allied occupation of Japan? Are the 2 atomic bombings a common theme running through a lot of 1970s and 1980s anime?

Have the out-of-universe creators of the show somewhat acknowledged the commentary on drones and whaling? Do these allegories have a stronger foundation than assertions about SDF Macross having some World War 2 subtext? Or is all of this analysis just plainly obvious when one watches the series, which I have not.

Thanks

Is it taboo to view SDF Macross as an allegory or homage to World War 2? The SDF-1 crash landing and the Zentradi might be the allied occupation of Japan? Are the 2 atomic bombings a common theme running through a lot of 1970s and 1980s anime?

The wikipedia page for Mecha is pretty informative as far as the etymology of the word in the first few paragraphs there. It is a Japanese word meaning machine in the broadest definition and "giant robot" in the narrowest definition. The wiki seems to imply the term "mecha" does not exist in Japan. Japan uses the word "robot anime" and not "mecha anime." I would assume the English word "mecha," derived from the Japanese word, is strictly used for fictional machines.

On 11/1/2020 at 1:57 AM, Bub said:

In DYRL? movie, why did Hikaru step on and brake his flashlight when he saw the girl he rescued (Minmay).  I might have asked this same question a long time ago.

I got this one.

Ahem. It is a characterization technique to establish Hikaru as the audience avatar or surrogate. Hikaru has been introduced to the audience as a highly skilled pilot of a killing machine. His courage in battle is contrasted with his shock and intimidation by Minmay's beauty. He drops the flashlight and clumsily steps on it which otherwise contrasts with his prowess as a pilot. Stepping on the flashlight was an accident we can all relate to which allows the audience to identify with Hikaru. Your question here may be evidence of a tiny flaw in the animation as Hikaru oddly does not seem to acknowledge breaking the flashilight which would have clarified the scene for you. Hikaru's surprise at seeing Minmay demonstrates her power and equates her with the Zentradi and Bodole Zer while foreshadowing her eventual weaponization. The flashlight beam also demonstrates a phenomenon referred to as the male gaze as it pans up Minmay's body. The flashlight could also by symbolic of male anatomy and portrays Hikaru's clumsiness, innocence, and romantic inexperience.

Hikaru mentions the broken flashlight moments later when Minmay's dress lights up. Thus, the flashlight was a "plant and payoff." By establishing a dark compartment it allowed Minmay to shine literally and symbolically.

I agree with everyone here. I cannot speak for username Bolt but I think he may have been implying if aliens helped humanity than we all benefited.

Did I just take the bait? 

3 hours ago, Bolt said:

So it can't be argued that all of the human race (red, white , brown, yellow, purple..) had help. Within this context?

The Ancient Astronaut theory can depend on your perspective. If you see yourself as a member of humanity with a direct lineage to a common ancestor then you did directly benefit from alien help as you have shared in these alien gifts. If you see yourself as a special creation and you feel no brotherhood with other races or cultures, then you might be more likely to suspect societies other than your own had outside alien help which your society never required. 

Is it fair to say Macross toys with the "Ancient Astronaut" theory? The Protoculture had seeded Earth but then later rediscovered humanity? So the Protoculture were ancient astronauts to their own creation in a sense?

Is the "Ancient Astronaut" theory somewhat corrosive to the spirit of out-of-universe viewers as it implies humans needed help to accomplish feats like the pyramids? Or does the "Ancient Astronaut" theory flatter humanity as it implies we possess almost supernatural abilities?

Only the good die young. He was a great guy. His Robotech journalism really gave me a lot of joy.

Here are some of his Robotech podcasts:

https://www.talkshoe.com/show/space-station-liberty

Teleread articles:

https://teleread.org/2020/10/14/r-i-p-chris-meadow-more-to-come-on-his-life/

https://teleread.org/2020/10/09/telereads-chris-meadows-seriously-injured-in-electric-bike-accident/

Hi. I wrote some essays analyzing Macross. In the same way the Romans adapted Greek mythology into their own Roman mythology, I used Robotech and DYRL as filters and lenses to focus and concentrate the story elements of Macross. It is written from the perspective of pop culture or media analysis. It is something to read if you are bored at work. Thanks.

https://superdimensionalanalysis.com/a-media-literacy-and-distilled-synthesis-for-every-incarnation-of-events-depicted-in-episodes-1-to-36/

Hi. I assume two of my posts in the last month were deleted.  The posts are missing. The threads went off topic. May I post my fan site in the homepage section or the review section? Thanks.

The first two Bill and Ted films are most excellent. They embody a beautiful ethos about the human spirit. "Be excellent to each other. And party on dude." This is the golden rule of 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' The "party on" portion is akin to turning the other cheek, live and let live, forgive and forget, keep on truckin,' etc.

Bill and Ted are holy fools or idiot savants. They are good natured and pure of heart.

At it's most cathartic, rock and roll music captures this joy of living.

All that said, Bill and Ted 3 is horrible. They missed the mark. The film just does not connect with the audience. The plot feels very forced and obviously formulaic, tired, and old. The plot borrows the tone of Spinal Tap. If you are middle aged and experienced Bill and Ted contemporaneously in your childhood, you may watch the film as a sad reminder there is currently a new generation of youths completely independent of your experience, values, priorities, and aesthetic tastes. The film reminds you of being completely out of touch with the new generation of youths. The film also fails at being an emissary of shared values between generations of audience members. I would prefer current youths not watch this film as it reflects poorly on my childhood and my generation. I would prefer current youths watch the first two Bill and Ted films.

Much of the plot should have been cut out of the film. It needed a much simpler and straightforward plot. They packed way too much into the plot and the film was very rushed. It had very fast pacing but not in a good way.

If I delicately wander into a controversial zone, the film may attempt to pay lip service to feminism and diversity but seems to fail at these attempts.

I paid $19.99 on Amazon Prime to rent the film. It was something to do during this pandemic, but it was a horrible film.

Party on dude!

station

On 12/7/2019 at 1:38 PM, jeniusornome said:

Official english subtitle/dub releases in the US:

SDF Macross: US DVD release by AnimEigo in early 2000s. English subtitles, no dub. Out of print.

also a DVD release by ADV films with subs and an English dub track. Out of print.

Macross II: US DVD release by US Renditions (later by Manga Entertainment). English dub and subs. Out of print.

Macross Plus: US DVD release by Manga entertainment of both series and movie versions. English dub, english subtitles. Out of print.

fwiw this is an excellent dub so if subtitles are not your thing, it’s still worth checking out. Fairly cheap on eBay.

-----------------

Official releases qwith English content In Japan, and available for international shipping on Amazon Japan or through ebay or whatever other second-hand market:

(all of this applies to blu-ray releases only; far as I know none of the official Macross dvd  releases have English anything)

(also to note: Japanese blu-rays will play in US players just fine as they are in the same region code, but DVDs require a region-free player since they are not the same region).

Macross Frontier "shooting star" ("shudisuta") movie Blu-ray box set: English subtiles only for the movie; english dub but no subtitles for the series. Includes gorgeous art books. Usually available for about $80.

Macross Plus special edition blu-ray: English subtitles, although they're... pretty bad. I mean they're passable enough to understand what's going on but they're pretty rough. This box set is out of print and usually commands a hefty premium on the secondary market.

Macross Delta series and movie Blu-ray: english subtitles.

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Important to note: the standard Japanese releases of the Macross Plus movie edition and the Macross Frontier movies do not contain english subtitles. It's only the special editions that have them.

--------------

 

Just for completion's sake, stuff that hasn't gotten an official english subtitle or dub release:

Macross 7 (all of it)

Macross Zero

Macross Frontier (series)

DYRL (unless you count the heavily edited, poorly dubbed US release in the 80s, “Clash of the Bionoids”)

Flashback 2012 (though worth pointing out, it’s just music and video footage without dialogue, so you don’t really need subtitles).

I found this post to be really helpful.

Thanks for sharing the announcement

Perhaps I don't deserve my avatar but it recently occurred to me that Dana Sterling in Remix is like Marty McFly as she is trying to orchestrate her own conception and then return to her own timeline.

2 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

 

Vrlitwhai and Exsedol recognize almost immediately ... the long-lost thermonuclear reaction weaponry.  

Thanks a lot. I just found in Episode 11 where Bodolzaa refers to the reaction weapons.

2 hours ago, Bolt said:

I read in the fan fiction thread there was a red light district in SDFM amd DYRL? 

Is this true? Now i need to rewatch. Again..

Minmay's birthday episode with the introduction of Max and Kakizake shows Kakizaki pointing out the area. DYRL? shows Minmay sort of eye-roll during her and Hikaru's date montage. 

Hi. In Episode 3 of SDF Macross Britai orders Exedore or his troops to fire on the ARMD's but not the SDF-1 because "that ship interests" him. What is the reason for this? Why does Britai and eventually Bodolzaa want a supervision army ship? Thanks.

Ahhh. Now I see. "Bribed with cake." No euphemisms involved.

I am reading the translation of the Macross Chronicle on the web. Can anyone help me understand this sentence from the synopsis for Episode 9: Miss Macross? "Also, a little bit before that, director Yamaga Hiroyuki seems to have received Mr. Miyatake Kazutaka's "purchased with cake" depiction of the genga in the cut where Hikaru clutches the control column in the scene where he intercepts the missiles (pictured)."

Is "purchased with cake" just a strange Japanese idiom or maxim? Does it just mean included in the price? I am just curious because I suspect when Hikaru clutches his control column it is an innuendo or double entendre. Does "purchased with cake" have a risque implication?

Ahhhhh. Thank you sir. Normal, Super, Armored. :)

Hello. There is a famous character and mecha appearance by episode chart for Episodes 1 to 36 from the Macross Chronicle. Could someone translate the key for the mecha? It uses a three letter key of N, S, and A for the veritechs. I am curious what the N, S, and A indicates. Thanks.

13 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

For instance, the SVF-1 Skulls have a weird aberrant modex number set that starts with a leading 0.  The Destroid formation markings are borrowed from World War II-vintage US Army regulation AR-850-5, though they're missing division-level numbers.  

Very cool. Was this information discovered and worked out by fans, referenced in a published book, or revealed in interviews with creative staff? Where do you feel these markings on the Destroids are most prominent? In the SDFM Episodes 1 to 36, in toys, or fairly equally represented throughout the franchise?

I hope you are getting paid by the franchise. I am so impressed with your expertise and availability to answer questions. You deserve a throne and crown as King of Macross. :)

1 hour ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Do you have a source that actually gives an official sales figure?  Or are you just using Comichron's approximation based on the Diamond Comic Distributors index ranking?

Hi. Thanks for all your corrections. My Remix sales figures are unofficial. I got them from a fan's YouTube video.

A podcaster and blogger at RT dot com with relationships with the creators of Remix feels Remix is not cancelled.

Hello. Another long strange journey of Robotech has come to a premature termination. It seems like Robotech Remix has failed in the commercial market and has ended with Issue 4. It looks like Robotech Remix was cancelled. It seems retailers purchased less than 5000 copies of Issue 4 and it is unknown how many of those 5000 were actually purchased by customers. If Remix is ever resurrected, it would probably be a reboot and be numbered as Issue 1 to increase sales. I suspect the title would be The Return and Rehash of Robotech Remix as a Resurrected Reboot. Remix began in November of 2019. Issue 5 was supposed to be issued in March of 2020.

I just wanted to say thank you to the Macross Forums and all the users posting here. I learned a lot reading all your posts on this topic. It was very insightful and helpful. Thank you for tolerating the discussion. As a fan of both Robotech and Macross, it was great to see things from a Macross point of view. After all the years since 1982 and 1985 I am hopeful the fans of the two franchises will continue to communicate with respect and civility. I hope this understanding continues to manifest and grow stronger.

I am taking it upon myself to write Issue 5 as the finale. Here are random guesses and wild speculation about the unfinished story arc of Robotech Remix. Of course, as soon as I post this, Issue 5 will be published, and I will look totally foolish. However, this is the best I can do based on 4 issues of Remix.

Spoiler Alert for Robotech Remix Issue 5 which is not published at the time of this writing.

Well, keep in touch. If anyone is interested in writing a “Macross for Dummies” or an “Idiot’s Guide to Macross” focusing on Episodes 1 to 36 please contact me. This post of wild predictions (fan fiction?) will have to tide us over until the next Robotech storyline. In the meantime we can explore the Macross franchise. Again, thank you to the Macross Forum and all the contributors posting here. It is very much appreciated.